Holster



N. A. PERKINS HOLSTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1967 ZIL N. A. PERKINS Oct. 22, 1968 HOLSTER Filed Jan. 30, 1967 2 Sheets-Shag? 2 INVENTOR. MAMA Pram/5' 3,406,884 HOLSTER Neale A. Perkins, Sierra Madre, Califi, assignor to Safariland Leather Products Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 529,694, Feb. 24, 1966. This application Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 622,853

1 Claim. (Cl. 224--2) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A gun holster which includes a rubber-like guide track inside the holster to receive the front sight of the gun.

This invention relates to holsters for firearms such as revolvers and pistols, and is a continuation-in-part application of my application Ser. No. 529,694 filed Feb. 24, 1966 now abandoned.

A typical firearm holster is made of a single sheet of leather folded back on itself and stitched together. The line along which the leather is folded produces strain in the sheet, and requires the use of relatively thick leather if the holster is to have a reasonably long life. The use of thicker leather is objectionable because it makes the holster bulky and uncomfortable to wear. This invention provides a lightweight holster made of relatively thin sheets of leather, and having a much longer life than the average holster made of thicker, heavier leather.

Briefly, the gun holster of this invention includes means defining a pocket adapted to hold a firearm in a normal position. An elongated sight track is mounted in the holster, and includes a longitudinal groove opening into the holster and shaped to receive the front sight of the firearm when the firearm is in the holster in a normal position. The sight track is made of material which is substantially more elastic than leather to engage and prevent movement of the sight longitudinally along the groove if the firearm is twisted from its normal position.

Preferably, the gun holster includes a pair of elongated spaced strips disposed to extend in the same general direction. Each strip has a respective first face lying in a substantially common first plane. A first sheet of material, preferably leather, is secured to the first faces of the strips to form one side of the holster. Each strip has a second face in a substantially common second plane, and a second sheet, preferably leather, is secured to the second faces of the strips to form the other side of the holster.

In one form, the sheets of leather are stitched to the strips. In another form, they are glued together. When the leather is to be used for a revolver, one of the strips is tapered to increase in thickness from the bottom toward the top of the holster to provide additional space to receive the revolver cylinder.

Preferably, the strips are substantially thicker, say two or three times, than the sheets. The strips are located in that part of the holster which receives maximum wear, and they insure long life although the sides of the holster formed by the sheets are relatively thin. With the holster of this invention, the side sheets need not be deflected very much out of their major planes, and, therefore, are subjected to little stress as in conventional holsters.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in

which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of the presently-preferred holster of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

nited States Patent FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of an alternate embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first short elongated strip 12 is spaced from and disposed parallel to a second long elongated strip 14. Each strip has a first flat face 15 lying in a substantially common first plane. A first sheet 16 of leather is secured by stitching 18 along its opposite edges to the first faces of the short and long strips.

A second sheet 20 of leather is secured by stitching (not shown) to second respective faces 22 of the strips. The second faces 22 of the strips lie in a substantially common plane and are on the opposite side of the strips from first faces 15. The leather sheets can be secured to the strips by any suitable means, such as gluing, or combination gluing and stitching Two sheets are substantially identical and coterminous except that the second sheet 20 has at its upper end of a flap section 23 which folds outwardly over itself and is stitched to an intermediate portion of the second sheet to form a belt loop 24 so the holster can be Worn around the waist.

As shown best in FIG. 2, the strips are thicker than the sheets. Preferably, the strips are at least twice as thick as the sheets. FIG. 2 also shows the sheets are not deflected substantially out of their respective major planes because the faces of the strips to which the sheets are attached are substantially parallel to the direction in which the sheets extend. Thus, there is little deformation or stress placed on the thick sheets which form the sides of the holster.

As shown best in FIG. 2, the interior face of the longer strip has a longitudinal groove 26 running substantially its full length to serve as a guide for the gunsight on the firearm carried in the holster. The guide groove 26 prevents the gunsight from engaging the thinner sheets and thereby prolongs the life of the holster. The inner edges of the side walls defining groove 26 are beveled at 27 to form a guide for the entry of the gunsight and to provide closer fit between the exterior portion of the long strip 14 and the interior surfaces of the sheets.

The holster of this invention can be dimensioned to receive any type of firearm, and although it has been described with respect to wearing on a belt, it can also be used as a shoulder holster, and even be mounted in an inverted position from that shown in FIG. 1. In such a case, suitable gun-retaining means, such as a releasable strap (not shown), is fastened over the gun to prevent it from dropping out of the holster.

Although the sight track for the gunsight shown in FIG. 2 is formed by cutting a groove in the adjacent strip, a similar result can be achieved for certain firearms without requiring a groove in the strip. In such a case, the strip is made relatively narrow, i.e., in the direction normal to the major plane of the sheets stitched to it so that the sheets themselves engage the barrel of the gun and prevent the gunsight from abrading against the inner edge of the adjacent strip. For those holsters in which the gunsight does rub against the inner edge of the strip, or the bottom of the groove if such a groove is used, the thickness of the strip in the direction generally parallel to the major planes of the sheets'is at least about twice as thick as the thickness of the sheets so that the holster provides long wear in the area where it is abraded by the gunsight.

The holster shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 includes a pair of leather sheets 30, 31 stitched to opposite faces of opposing first and second strips 32 and 33, respectively. Sheet 30 has a conventional flap 34 formed integrally with it at its upper end and adapted to fold over the top of the holster and be held in place by conventional snap 36.

The first strip 32 is at the rear edge of the holster and may be of any suitable material such as leather. The second strip 33 is at the forward edge of the holster and preferably is made of neoprene having a Shore hardness of about 70 percent to about 75 percent. An inwardly opening longitudinally and vertical groove 38 is formed in the inside face of the second strip to receive the front sight of a firearm, which in the case of the holster shown in FIGS. and 6 is a revolver (not shown). As shown best in FIG. 5, the upper portion of the second strip 33 is trimmed away to remove the side walls defining groove 38 so that about the upper third of the second strip is rectangular in cross section and free of any groove. This facilitates curving the upper portion of the second strip outwardly to accommodate the shape of a conventional revolver which fits into the holster.

With the holster of this invention, the side sheets can be relatively thin because they are not subjected to sharp bends. The holster is given additional strength and material at the juncture of the sheets without adding to its bulk elsewhere. The thin sheets of leather are easily molded to conform to almost the exact shape of the firearm held by the holster. Thus, the holster takes up very little more room than the firearm itself. This feature makes it ideal for wearing as a shoulder holster where comfort and concealment are important.

Another advantage of the new holster is that it is more crush resistant than the conventional holster and, therefore, provides better protection for the sights of the fire arm carried in it.

The strips which include the groove for the gunsight are each preferably made of an elastic material, such as neoprene, which has a relatively low coefiicient of friction with the firearm when the firearm is moved into and out of the holster in the normal manner, i.e. by one wearing the holster. However, if the gun i twisted from its normal position, say by one attempting an unauthorized withdrawal of the firearm, the gunsight engages one of the sides of the groove and deforms it so the sight is firmly gripped and removal of the firearm prevented.

Another and important advantage of the holster of this invention is that the side sheets can be molded to fit closely around the gun so that whether the gunsight track is formed from a groove in one of the strips, or from two of the sheets joining a strip, the gun is held against rotation around the longitudinal axis of its barrel. This permits the holster to be mounted to ride higher in the belt for the convenience of the wearer and to prevent the lower end of the holster from extending below a short military-type jacket worn b many peace officers.

Although both the holsters shown in the drawings are made up of opposed sheets secured to space strips sandwiched between them, it is obvious that the strip at the rear of the holster can be eliminated, and the sheets can be one large piece folded over on itself where the rear strip was without sacrificing the advantage of the elastic gunsight track of this invention.

I claim:

1. A gun holster comprising means defining a pocket adapted to hold a firearm in a normal position, an elongated sight track mounted in the holster, the sight track including a longitudinal groove opening inwardly into the holster and shaped to receive the front sight of the firearm when the firearm is in the holster in a normal position, the sight track being made of a material which is substantially more elastic than leather to engage and prevent movement of the sight longitudinally along the groove if the firearm is twisted from its normal position, parallel flanges extending into the holster and formed integrally with the sight track to define the groove, the flanges starting at a point a substantial distance from the upper end of the sight track and terminating at the lower end of the sight track, the said upper end of the sight track being curved outwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,524,110 10/1950 Kuemmerling 224--2 2,546,774 3 /1951 Ohzemeyer 2242 2,601,586 6/1952 Brice 224-2 ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner.

R. BALLANTYNE, Assistant Examiner. 

